ACU March-19 Final Draft

GLOBAL NEWS
High-tech navigation technique
enables Emirates to increase
cargo capacity to Kabul
D U B A I : U s i n g a d v a n c e d
technology navigation technique that
E m i r a t e s F l i g h t O p e r a t i o n s
developed, the Dubai-based airline
says it has successfully increased
c a r g o c a p a c i t y t o K a b u l ,
Afghanistan's capital, without
compromising security and safety.
Emirates says the innovative
m i s s e d - a p p r o a c h p r o c e d u r e
developed replaced the older
technique that required cargo bound
for Kabul to be offloaded in Dubai
during low-cloud or poor visibility
weather conditions at destination to
make the aircraft lighter thereby
achieve the required climb gradient.
This old practice, however, often
delays the arrival of the cargo and
lead to other associated costs for
both Emirates and the customers
affected.
Emirates flies daily to Kabul
International Airport using a Boeing
777-300ER and within the first three
months of using the new technique, it
has added about 250 tons of cargo
i n t o K a b u l d u r i n g l o w - c l o u d
conditions.
In addition to increased facilitation
of trade to and from Afghanistan, the
procedure has also resulted in more
streamlined cargo operations to
K a b u l , i n c r e a s e d c u s t o m e r
satisfaction, and enhanced fuel
efficiency.
Kabul airport is situated in a wide
valley elevated at 5,800 feet,
surrounded by towering mountains
about 11,000 feet tall. The airport has
a number of constraints associated
with it because of the challenging
terrain, Air Traffic Control (ATC) and
other security requirements.
Kabul airport's primary Runway 29
has two established missed-approach
procedures with one requiring an
aircraft be able to climb at a steep
angle when cloud cover is lower than
1,200 feet.
In order to optimise cargo loads
without compromising on safety,
Emirates Flight Operations Support
developed a new missed-approach
navigation procedure with an easier
climb gradient for Kabul airport's
Runway 29 taking advantage of the
Boeing 777 aircraft's superior
navigational accuracy.
The team worked with a specialist
flight design agency, DFS Aviation
Services, with regulatory credentials
to analyse the terrain around the
airport and develop a new procedure
that could be implemented without
delays in working with the local ATC.
Once the initial design was ready, it
was coded into the Emirates Flight
Management System and tested
extensively on flight simulators to
confirm theoretical performance
calculations as well as ensuring that
the aircraft would indeed be able to
clear any obstacles in the case of a “Go
around.” The Flight Operations
Systems team then developed
detailed training guidance in order to
support pilots flying to the airport.
Emirates' Flight Operations
Support team also used similar
technology to successfully enhance
operational efficiency at other
airports such as Seychelles, Addis
Ababa, Eldoret and Basra.
Ethiopian Cargo
gets new B737-800
freighter
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian
Cargo gets its brand new
B 7 3 7 - 8 0 0 f r e i g h t e r a s
Ethiopian Airlines Group
gears up to realize its longterm
plan of making cargo
and logistics one of its most
profitable ventures with
projected annual revenue of
US$2 billion by 2025.
Ethiopian Airlines, the
largest aviation group in
Africa, envisions its cargo
division to haul as much as
8 2 0 , 0 0 0 t o n s o f c a r g o
annually by then with 19
dedicated aircraft serving
more than 57 international
destinations.
The B737-800 freighter, the
first of its kind in the Ethiopian
Cargo fleet mix, was delivered
on March 1, 2019 and is
designed to serve short haul
destinations in Africa and the
Middle East.
The Group CEO of Ethiopian
A i r l i n e s , T e w o l d e
GebreMariam, said they are
excited over their newest
freighter just a few days after
the company bagged several
awards at Air Cargo Africa.
“The arrival of this new
freighter is a significant
addition and propels both our
capacity and frequency. The B-
737-800 Freighter will give us
a new capability to serve short
haul destinations in Africa and
t h e M i d d l e E a s t m o r e
economically which includes
the export of Ethiopian meat,
fruits and vegetables to the
G u l f R e g i o n , ” s a i d
GebreMariam.